Fire-kindler



(No Model.)

T. T. PROSSER.

PIRE KINDLER.

180.386,895. Patented July 31, 1888.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

TREAT T. PROSSER, OF LAKESIDE, ILLINOIS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 386,895, dated July 31,1888.

Application filed August 16, 1887. Serial No. 247.070. (No model.)

.To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, TREAT T. PRossEE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lakeside, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Kerosene Oil Cylinders,of which the following, taken in connection with the drawingsaccompanying and forming a part hereof, is a full and completedescription, suficient to enable those skilled in the art to understandand make the same.

My invention relates to that class of appliances used for burningkerosene-oil for heating purposes in ordinary stoves or grates; and itconsists of a cylinder filled with non-combustible porous or brousmaterial-as mineral wool or material oflike density and liquid-absorbentpower-the said cylinder having Vcupped heads or ends, with holestherein, and

a shell or ease of sheet metal with a series of long slits cut thereinand arranged longitudinally or perpendicularly upon said cylinder, aspreferred.

I am aware that a cylinder or cup or saucer Ishaped receptacle filledwith shredded non-combustible material, as asbestus, and covered at oneend with a wire netting or gauze, has been heretofore constructed, andthat oil or alcohol has been poured upon said netting, saturating thesaid shredded asbestus therewith, and that upon the application ofa dameto the upper or outer surface of said netting or gauze such oil oralcohol has been burned and heat produced thereby, as in the commonalcohol-stove,7 so called, for thesick-room,and,further, that acylinderhas been formed ofsuch Wire or gauze netting and having saidshredded asbestus therein, and that a flame for heating purposes hasbeen heretofore obtained by the burning of the oil or alcohol with whichsaid shredded asbestns is saturated; but in all such cylinders orsaucer-shaped receptacles either a high-grade non-smoke-producingliquid, as alcohol, must be used, or the material placed therein, as theshredded asbestus, must be packed comparatively tightly, in order toprevent the too rapid feeding of the oil to the llame upon the outersurface of the wire-netting, or a large and offensive amount of smoke isproduced, and the amount of heat obtained from a given quantity of oilthereby largely reduced below that which it is possible to obtaintherefrom.

The object of my invention is to obtain a cylinder of the characternamed in which the oil or other combustible liquid with which thenon-combustible porous material contained in the cylinder is saturatedmay and shall, to a very large extent, if not entirely, becomevolatilized before being presented to the flame surrounding the cylinderwhen the liquid contents thereof are heilig burned, and a much cleanerdame thereby secured than Where, as in the netted-wire cylinders orother shaped receptacles heretofore made and hereinbefore named, the oilor alcohol is volatilized by the direct action of the flame thereon.

A further advantage secured by mein my de- Vice is that I am enabled touse a much more porous material for the non-combustible packing of mycylinder, and a greater quantity of oil or other combustible liquid maytherefore be held in saturation thereby, while the amount ofthesameburned per minute is not increased, and may even be diminished, beinggoverned by the size and number of the slits in the shell of thecylinder and their peculiar shape; and therefore in a cylinder of agiven size I am able to maintain a flame of a given size for a muchlonger period t-han has heretofore been done, as well as to secure abrighter and greater heat-producing flame.

An additional object sought by me is to obtain a cylinder of thecharacter named which may be handled from both ends by the ordinarystove-cover lifters, this purpose being attained by the use of thewashers placed outside of the heads of the cylinder, in the mannerhereinafter described.

Figure lis a front elevation of my invention. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectionof the same.

Like letters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

A is the shell or case of the cylinder, and is preferably constructed ofsheet metal, having the slits to a a punched or cut therein. The slits aa a are arranged either' longitudinally or laterally around said shellor case A.

a a' a are holes in the cupped heads C C of the cylinder.

BB are washers placed on the outer side of the cupped heads C C of thecylinder.

D is a rod extending through the washers B B, cupped heads C C,and shellor case A.,forming the cylinder. Bod D has ahead at one end IOO thereofand a nut, D, at the other end thereof, and serves as a tierod, firmlyholding the several parts of the cylinder together.

E is the packing used by me, and consists of mineral wool placed looselypacked in' said cylinder.

In order to put my device together I put one head of the cylinder,having a washer on the outer side thereof,upon the said cylinder,and,after `passing the rod D through said washer and head and through theshell or case of the cylinder` I pack a'sutiicient quantity of mineralWool or other like material therein, after which Iput the other headofthe cylinder, with its accompanying washer, in position and Secure itfirmly in place by nut D. Ihe device is now ready for use. One end of acommon stove-lifter, a case-knife, or other like implement may be placedunder the washer B, and the outer edge or rim of the cupped head Cacting as a fulcrum, the cylinder may be lifted by said stove-coverlifter in the same manner as in an ordinary stovecover. Keroseneoilispouredupon the cupped head Oor in the cup formed thereby, and, passingthrough holes a a a therein, the non-combustible materialE is saturatedtherewith; or,if preferred, the cylinder is placed in a pail or bucketcon taining keroseneoil and allowed to there remain a sufiicient lengthof time to becomesaturated with said oil. The Ycylinder is then placedin the tire-pot ofan ordinary stove, or in a grate or open tire-place,and a a'me applied thereto until aportion of the oil contained thereinis Vaporized and-ignited, when such ignition will continue until all theoil contained in saidcylinderisconsumed. Ihecomparativelylarge amountofheatingsurl'ace formed by the sheetmetal shell of the cylindersurrounding the slits therein causes the oil in immediate contact withthe heated undersurface of such shell or case to become volatilizedbefore it emerges from said cylinder through the slits therein, and Itherefore obtain, as already stated, a flame of great heating power andone producing but little smoke.

Having thus describedmy invention and its construction and operation,what I claim is- The combination,in an oil-burning cylinder, ofshell orcase A, slits a a, arranged in series on said shell A, cup-shaped headsO, perforations a a in said heads, washer B of less diameter than head Cand extending from the center thereof over the cup-shaped portion asufficient distance to be adapted to the placing of a stove-lifter coveror other like article thereunder for the lifting ofsaid cylinder, andporous non-combustible material placed in said shell or case,substantially as described.

TREAT T. PROSSER.

